From RichardM: A unit of Stradiot Light Cavalry for the Italian Wars (60 points)

My much delayed first post. Nevertheless here it is.

I have started with a unit of 4 light cavalry Stradiots using TAG miniatures in 28mm. 
 

The horses have been painted with the oil wipe method, which I like as it gives good depth to the colour and does not require much thought to get the highlights and shading in the correct places. As it is messy and takes some time to dry, it is not something that I want to do on 4 horses alone so there are another 8 (2 units of light cavalry) mounted crossbowmen that were done at the same time - the crossbowmen need to be painted.

I have great plans to build on my already existing Italian Wars armies in 28mm during this year's Challenge.  

In addition to the crossbowmen mentioned above, I've also got quite a few Spanish arquebusiers primed and in various stages of commencement and some vignettes on the tray also primed. I may throw in the odd building as well as I usually spend all my time doing figures and then need to catch up on the terrain. 

Points earned: 

- 4 mounted at 10 points each 

Thanks 

Richard

Welcome to the day of Firsts for sure! And a good entry to go with it!

Am guessing by the term Oil Wipe.. its literally slap oil paints on the model, and then wipe the excess off? Great method for sure, with easy to replicate results!

I've also taken the liberty to give you the History Section points. So 60 pts to start you off here!

Congrats and welcome

Kyle

From PhilH: Learning New Skills at New Acquisitions (55 points)

Hello, sorry for the radio silence from my paint desk and on people’s posts but it’s quite a disrupted time for my family and my hobby setup isn’t what I’d like for the foreseeable. Still, I’ll at last be joining in Challenge XIV. I’ve painting as much as my schedule allows, but been very lax on the finishing and photographing. I’ll have a few posts to follow this one once I’ve staved off The Cut. 

It seems appropriate to start my journey around the Analogueville Public Library at ‘Front Desk & New Acquisitions’. Start at the front door and for a jaunty hello from the staff and all that. My new hobby acquisition since the last challenge has been an Elegoo Saturn resin printer. I’ve been incorporating resin prints into my hobby for a few years now, but finally I can industrialise production and despair at the prospect of ever painting it all. 

As with all new skills there’s a learning curve, though once I’d looked at looked at a few setups and figured out what to do about the toxic gunk, I found resin printing quite straightforward. My entry here of five Wookie Warriors for Star Wars was once of my first print runs, and I’d not quite got my exposure settings dialled in, so the details are a touch soft and the cheapo resin quite brittle. The keen eyed might spot some damages from prep and painting, and two of the seven I printed were unsalvageable once I’d pinged their weapons off.

The fur was all drybrushed, just leaving the picking out of facial details, their webbing and weapons to match the rebel troopers I did last year. The files are from the sadly now-defunct Squamous Miniatures Patreon. I love the obscenely big support weapon and Vietnam-era marines look to the webbing and helmets, a nice twist on wookies. The designer now operates as David Sheff Models (DSM) and releases via Kickstarter, I thought his Patreon was the most interesting and best value Star Wars-inspired Patreon and miss it.

Five big wookies in 40mm scale is 35 points, plus the location bonus opens my tally at 55 points. 

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Wonderful to see you join us, Phil! Cutting it a little fine mate, but well worth it, and all in the spirit of these magnificent Wookie warriors who look more than ready to pull-off any daunting rescue mission. Very nice models (too bad they're not available anymore). As you say, they really take well to the 'Nam-like webbing, and your smooth brushwork really does them justice (really like the amber lenses and metallic glints from the hafts of their blades. Yes, 3d printing has a bit of a learning curve to it, but it looks like you have everything well in hand. You're now fully empowered to (like me) produce metric sh*t tonnes of stuff that you'll never manage to paint. :)  

Welcome back!!

- Curt

From JeremyM: 10mm Chaos Fantasy Army and Scenery (85 Points)

Our gaming group has been playing a campaign using 10mm fantasy figures and the To the Strongest Magic Ruleset https://ttsm2.co.uk/m2/ You can follow along on our progress here https://app.roll20.net/campaigns/details/15475161/the-isle-of-mist-and-flame-a-warhammer-fantasy-campaign we are nearly at the end with a 3 way tie for first and one player not too far behind. I have been playing the Chaos Warrior forces and have an army of 10mm figures mostly 3d printed from Forest Dragon and Onmioji designs. I based these forces to also play warmaster potentially, magnetized the bases and created larger unit sleds from 3d prints and some metal.

To add to my forces I’ve added some chaos warriors of Tzeentch, this was largely to reflect the pretty amazing good luck (my opponents refer to it as ‘ridiculous’) toward the end of the campaign. So here are 60 10mm chaos warriors in a blue and yellow scheme. Mostly painted using the ‘slap chop’ method which makes things go super fast at this scale.  The models were created by forest dragon and I included a couple views with them in their infantry tray with some scenery I also painted.

One unit my forces sorely lacked were chaos giants. Thankfully greenskin mini’s recently had 2 models on their patreon I subscribed two and I found another on the cults site that I shrunk down (one on the right). While they are giants at 10mm they are basically just 3 28mm figures. To be honest I should have painted their pants some different colours as they seem to blend in as multiple shades of brown…but live and learn they are ‘good enough’ to play with and that’s what counts in the end.

I’ve also completed a few extra bits to add to the unit trays to give things a bit more flavour. I’ve been eyeing Curt’s excellentlittle diorama scenes he’s made for his units for the game and felt I wanted something similar. So I based some little destroyed houses on Warmaster bases to add to my scenes. All were available from Thingiverse and had to be shrunk down a lot to fit. As much as I like the flexibility of using figures for multiple systems, we don’t really play warmaster and I think for future armies I’m going to just bite the bullet and base them en mass on bigger bases to make some nicer scenes.

Finally, I wanted to create a large base scene for my big chaos generals mounted on dragons. I created a scene shrinking some ruins from thingiverse, some dead civilians, and a couple that are even on fire which were perfect additions for my dragons! I have two dragons, one with a warrior mounted on a purple dragon and another with a wizard on a red one. I can’t legally take both so the single base should work well for now. The circle in the middle is some sheet metal cut so the magnetic dragon base will stick. The terrain including the houses above isn’t terribly extensive I guessed around 10 points at most using the suggested rules. Both dragons were painted prior to the challenge so not claiming them just the base.

60 10mm figures               60

3 28mm figures                 15

Terrain                                10

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It's great to see you back with us, Jeremy! 

These 10mm Chaos models look superb. I really like the contrasting yellow cloaks of the Tzeentch warriors against their blue armour, and your new terrain inserts look ace. The Giants are wonderfully imposing and nasty (in an impressive way), but I have to say that your Dragon base is particularly magnificent. The placement of the steel center ring for magnetisation with the model is a brilliant touch. Well done!

I very much look forward to seeing all of these new additions on the table for our next game!

- Curt

From Rhunt - Elves and fantasy heroes (40 pts)

 I completed some more models after my last entry was ready to go. First off is two more of these elves. I'm really close to being done with them.

Two more leaders. One for spears and one for bows.

There's not a lot to say about these that I haven't already said. I am painting them all a little bit different.

Next up is three more of the warband I just bought. These are really cool models and I'm already trying to find more. My dad says I need to find a deal because they cost a lot.

Dad says these would be great for a Mordheim warband. He showed me some tables people made and it looks like a really cool game.

The last three are three more Bones from dad. They were fun to paint. They have so many different models that you can find anything you need for a game.

I liked painting the flaming sword the most out of all of these.

So that's it for this week. Not as much done as I usually do but dad was out of town so I was helping Mom around the house more than normal. 

8 x 28mm models = 50 points.

First off, apologies for you being double posting today. I mixed up the release date for your other post. 

But really happy to see more models from you, and some really nice work from you across these models. Loving that you are adding some foliage to the bases on the last few there. Really takes the models to new heights!

Also great to help out the family while your dad was out of town. Great job there!

Kyle

From HerrRobert - The ballistae cull a fearful toll [History] - 50 points

The library book sale is an annual event, held the first month after the annual opening of the Analogueville Public Library. Librarians silently and swiftly identify august tomes collecting dust and authors no longer in demand by Analogueville patrons and move them to the consignment sale. Warned of the impending fate of From Dura to Ctesiphon, stories of the Roman-Persian wars, a retelling for modern audiences was in order.

Although famous for the quality of their cavalry and (due to scurrilous and vile reputation smirching by the scholars of their enemies) infamy of their infantry, the Sassanid Empire also operated an artillery arm for siege and pitched battle work. Jauntily attired in brightly colored tunics, pants and especially fashionable domed hats, we see examples of three Sassanid ballistae, ready for action at Dura, or attacking any of the numerous fortified Roman cities in the Levant.

My first submission for Challenge XIV is three 15mm Sassanid ballistae and crews. All are from the Sassanid Bolt Shooters And Crew pack in Old Glory's Ancients Sassanid line, now sold by 19th Century Miniatures. 

These are the first 15mm miniatures I have painted in a very long time (almost a decade now), and are mounted on the standard WRG/DBA basing of 40mmx40mm for artillery. 

I tried something new, going for a zenithal prime (Krylon black, followed by Games Workshop Corax White). I'm pleased with the results, the zenithal giving a nice shade to some of the craft paints used for pants and hats. I also was able to get a nice mix of unbleached linen and wool, using either Reaper 09063 Ghost White for the grayish tones, and 09061 Linen White for the cream tones. I'd not been a fan of cream tones for white in the past, but it works well here, I think.

As you can see, my basing style for 15mm troops is much simpler and faster than 25mm, with just painting the base in Americana Mississippi Mud, and then dipping it in a flock mix. It works much better than thinned down white glue, as figures flocked two decades ago will attest. I also put triangular labels on the corners of 15mm bases, which really helps with telling what a given stand is. While artillery is pretty obvious, a lot of other DBA troop types can be very confusing. 

For those who wish to copy them, the labels are really easy to make. I just use a triangle shape in Powerpoint, and 6pt Calibri font. For my SYW troops, I'll use a fancier font. I used to make them in Illustrator, but honestly Powerpoint is a lot simpler now.

Sadly, neither DBA nor the standard Might of Arms list (my favorite Ancients to Medievals wargame rules) for Sassanids allow ballistae, so they may be destined to sit on the shelf and look pretty for a long while. 

Entering the library, I snuck past the collections desk and their pesky fines (what's this wanting their books back, on time, stuff!?) and made a beeline for History. Obviously, the Sassanid Persians are a sadly neglected (and colorful) period of history, but also a major piece of my personal wargaming history. My first forays into DBA twenty years ago (or more) with 2.0/2.2 were with a Sassanid Persian Army, and I've always been a fan of the Sassanids - especially those awesome hats. Sadly, the army has sat half-finished and neglected for a while now, but I am hoping to revive it as part of a general bringing my DBA armies up to 3.0 composition.

So why a full month for nine 15mm figures? Several reasons. COVID hit me hard for Christmas, and then I got seriously stuck on some 25mm Old West figures. They looked an easy paint job, but for some reason they sucked away all my painting mojo. I'd also noticed a hard time seeing the details, both on the ancients and the Old West figures. Missing and then seeing things was a real demoralizer. I'm scheduled for a cataract replacement in February, and hopefully that will make it a lot easier to see. Meanwhile, I'm going to switch gears to something more fun and hopefully that will get the mojo back. 

Add in the obligatory photo complaint, but I think I have figured out why they're so washed out. I also don't have near that many pieces of static grass and flock on my photo background, but the iPhone sees everything (especially mold lines I didn't see and thus didn't file off before priming).

Scoring:

• 9 15mm infantry figures @ 2 points per = 18 points
• 3 15mm artillery pieces @ 4 points per =  12 points
• History section of the Analogueville Public Library = 20 points
  

For a total of 50 points! 25% of my quota!

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First, welcome back to the Challenge, Robert! Sorry to hear about your peepers. I hope the coming month sets you up well. Still, there is nothing to apologize for with these figures as they look terrific. I especially like the arid basework. Well done!

- Curt

From Codsticker: Bloody Miniatures- The Militant Tendency (20pts)

 Blister BM 014 of the Bloody Miniatures range is The Militant Tendency. 

In the 17thC the United Kingdom saw various religious and social movements pop up, most aligning with the Parliamentarian cause and concentrating in it's army. 

Dissatisfaction with Parliament led the the formation of the Army Council which was formed, in part, by two elected representatives from each regiment, know as Agitators. 

I imagine these would have been religiously invigorated young men, excellent at rousing their coreligionists within the army.

Oliver Cromwell saw himself, and his army, as an instrument of God's will. His followers and soldiers believed it as well. 

These sculpts perfectly catch that zealousness, and- like the packs previous- have wonderful, characterful faces.

4 28mm figures, at 5 pts each each equals another frugal 20 pts.

Quality over quantity here mate! Love seeing this project evolve, even if its one blister at a time! Especially with that lovely background setting you have going on!

Congrats

Kyle

Rhunt - Space Marines and fantasy (85 pts)

 I'm getting close to being done with my Space Marines (which I like painting) and my elves, which I really don't like painting. I also have some other models for this week.

More Space Marines. I really like these models. They are a lot bigger than my dad's older models. They look good and they are easy to paint, but there are a lot of things on them that have to be painted. I tried different colors on the rims of the bases, like people told me to. I like the blue base best.

There is also a tank that came with this set so I have to see if my dad will build it for me.  I'm running out of models to paint.

Bones. These are old ones so they are not very detailed.

Two Bones models. I put the one on the right on a 3D printed base that someone gave me.

Next up are three brand new models. I bought them last Saturday. They are part of a box that my dad says would be perfect for Mordheim but I don't know what that game is.

Two dogs and the female fighter.

There are three more guys in the set that I'm working on finishing for next week.

I really liked the dogs. I have eight more dogs for elves in Oathmark so now I can have ten dogs. 

Next up is Iorlas. He came with Denethor and is the captain of the Citadel Guards. He has some really cool rules that let him shield but still strike, so he should be really hard to kill.

Iorlas, captain of the Citadel Guards

I think this is the last infantry model for Gondor that I didn't have. I still need to get the Trebuchet and the bolt thrower but then I think that between my dad's army and mine we have all of the options. I am going to use Roman scorpions for Gondor bolt throwers until I get the models.

The last entry is more icky elves. I'm really close to being done with these and that makes me very happy.

Five archers, one sword and two spears

These seventeen 28mm models give me 85 points for the week.

Thank you.

Great output this week mate. Loving all the different works you have done, and I agree that the blue based rims look the best. Once you paint all your marines with it, you will see a nice upgrade to the unit as a whole! Keep up the great work here, and may all your dices roll 6 when playing against your dad! 85 pts to you. Kyle